scholarly journals Co-designing eHealth and Equity Solutions: Application of the Ophelia (Optimizing Health Literacy and Access) Process

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Cheng ◽  
Gerald R. Elsworth ◽  
Richard H. Osborne
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Inequalities ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Health Organizations ◽  
Ehealth Literacy ◽  
Guiding Principles ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Expert Validation ◽  
Improve Health

Background: The unequal access, challenges and outcomes related to using technology have created the digital divide, which leads to health inequalities. The aim of this study was to apply the Ophelia (Optimizing Health Literacy and Access) process, a widely used systematic approach to whole of community co-design, to the digital context to generate solutions to improve health and equity outcomes.Methods: This was a mixed method study. A cross-sectional survey was undertaken at 3 health organizations in Victoria, Australia using the eHealth Literacy Questionnaire (eHLQ) as a needs assessment tool. Cluster analysis was conducted to identify subgroups with varying eHealth literacy needs. These data, combined with semi-structured interviews with clients, were used to generate vignettes representing different eHealth literacy profiles. The vignettes were presented at co-design workshops with clients and health professionals to generate solutions for digital health services improvement. Expert validation and proof-of-concept testing was explored through mapping the process against Ophelia guiding principles.Results: The cluster analyses identified 8 to 9 clusters with different profiles of eHealth literacy needs, with 4 to 6 vignettes developed to represent the eHealth literacy strengths and weaknesses of clients at each of the 3 sites. A total of 32, 43, and 32 solutions across 10 strategies were co-created based on ideas grounded in local expertise and experiences. Apart from digital solutions, non-digital solutions were frequently recommended as a strategy to address eHealth literacy needs. Expert validation identified at least half of the ideas were very important and feasible, while most of the guiding principles of the Ophelia process were successfully applied.Conclusion: By harnessing collective creativity through co-design, the Ophelia process has been shown to assist the development of solutions with the potential to improve health and equity outcomes in the digital context. Implementation of the solutions is needed to provide further evidence of the impact of the process. The suggested inclusion of non-digital solutions revealed through the co-design process reminds health organizations and policymakers that solutions should be flexible enough to suit individual needs. As such, taking a co-design approach to digital health initiatives will assist in preventing the widening of health inequalities.

scholarly journals Electronic Health Literacy in Swiss-German Parents: Cross-Sectional Study of eHealth Literacy Scale Unidimensionality (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sibylle Juvalta ◽  
Matthew J Kerry ◽  
Rebecca Jaks ◽  
Isabel Baumann ◽  
Julia Dratva
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Factor Structure ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
General Factor ◽  
Factor Analyses ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Ehealth Literacy ◽  
Swiss German

BACKGROUND Parents often use digital media to search for information related to their children’s health. As the quantity and quality of digital sources meant specifically for parents expand, parents’ digital health literacy is increasingly important to process the information they retrieve. One of the earliest developed and widely used instruments to assess digital health literacy is the self-reported eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS). However, the eHEALS has not been psychometrically validated in a sample of parents. Given the inconsistency of the eHEALS underlying factor structure across previous reports, it is particularly important for validation to occur. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to determine the factor structure of the German eHEALS measure in a sample of parents by adopting classic and modern psychometric approaches. In particular, this study sought to identify the eHEALS validity as a unidimensional index as well as the viability for potential subscales. METHODS A cross-sectional design was used across two purposive sampling frames: online and paper administrations. Responses were collected between January 2018 and May 2018 from 703 Swiss-German parents. In addition to determining the sampling characteristics, we conducted exploratory factor analysis of the eHEALS by considering its ordinal structure using polychoric correlations. This analysis was performed separately for online–based and paper–based responses to examine the general factor strength of the eHEALS as a unidimensional index. Furthermore, item response theory (IRT) analyses were conducted by fitting eHEALS to a bifactor model to further inspect its unidimensionality and subscale viability. RESULTS Parents in both samples were predominantly mothers (622/703, 88.5%), highly educated (538/703, 76.9%), of Swiss nationality (489/703, 71.8%), and living with a partner (692/703, 98.4%). Factor analyses of the eHEALS indicated the presence of a strong general factor across both paper and online samples, and the Wilcoxon rank-sum test indicated that the eHEALS total sum score was not significantly different between the paper and online samples (<i>P</i>=.12). Finally, the IRT analyses indicated negligible multidimensionality, insufficient subscale reliability after accounting for the eHEALS general factor, and a reduced subset of items that could serve as a unidimensional index of the eHEALS across the paper and online samples. CONCLUSIONS The German eHEALS evidenced good psychometric properties in a parent-specific study sample. Factor analyses indicated a strong general factor across purposively distinct sample frames (online and paper). IRT analyses validated the eHEALS as a unidimensional index while failing to find support for subscale usage.

Contrast of Digital and Health Literacy Between IT and Health Care Specialists Highlights the Importance of Multidisciplinary Teams for Digital Health—A Pilot Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 734-745
Author(s):  
André Pfob ◽  
Chris Sidey-Gibbons ◽  
Maximilian Schuessler ◽  
Sheng-Chieh Lu ◽  
Cai Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Multidisciplinary Teams ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Career Stage ◽  
Literacy Assessment ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Ehealth Literacy ◽  
It Department

PURPOSE Despite their promises, digital innovations have scarcely translated to technologies used in routine clinical practice, making the identification of barriers to successful implementation a research priority. Low levels of transdisciplinary skills represent such a barrier but so far, this has not been evaluated and compared between information technology (IT) and health care specialists. In this study, we evaluated the level of digital health literacy among IT and health care specialists. MATERIALS AND METHODS An anonymous questionnaire was distributed to staff at a breast cancer unit and an IT department of two German universities in December 2020. The survey questionnaire consisted of the previously validated eHealth Literacy Assessment Toolkit and additional questions with respect to age, profession, and career stage. Mann-Whitney or Wilcoxon rank-sum tests and two-sample chi-square tests were used for the analysis. RESULTS The survey was completed by 113 individuals: 70 (61.9%) IT specialists and 43 (38.1%) health care specialists. Health care specialists scored significantly higher on the health-related scales and IT specialists scored significantly higher on the digitally related scales. No single participant identified themselves to have the highest level of literacy on all survey questions (n = 0 of 113; 0%). Only one person (n = 1 of 113; 0.9%) consistently reported a high or the highest level of literacy. CONCLUSION Although IT and health care specialists showed great literacy in their respective disciplines, only few individuals combined both digital and health care literacy. Multidisciplinary teams and transdisciplinary curricula are crucial to bridge skill gaps between disciplines and to drive the implementation of digital health initiatives.

Digital Health Literacy

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 0-0
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Health Communication ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Interpersonal Relationship ◽  
Quality Criteria ◽  
Health Organizations

The pandemic has shown the importance of health organizations adapting rapidly to teleconsultation services, investing in e-health with quality criteria and monitoring outcomes. Through a literature review and gathering research already carried out on e-health communication and with practical examples it is verified that, if the requirements of proximity, quality and interpersonal relationship are met, better health results can be obtained. When communication is established in health via mobile phone, with image, sound, voice, text, it is thus possible to work the memory and health instructions of patients and obtain better health outcomes. These strategies must be personalized and adapted to the patient's age and context.

Health literacy: applying current concepts to improve health services and reduce health inequalities

Public Health ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 132 ◽  
pp. 3-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.W. Batterham ◽  
M. Hawkins ◽  
P.A. Collins ◽  
R. Buchbinder ◽  
R.H. Osborne
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Health Inequalities ◽  
Improve Health

scholarly journals Adolescent health literacy: factors effecting usage and expertise of digital health literacy among universities students in Pakistan

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adnan Adil ◽  
Ahmed Usman ◽  
Nasir Mehmood Khan ◽  
Faria Ibad Mirza
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
University Students ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Level Of Education ◽  
Ehealth Literacy ◽  
Independent Variables ◽  
Proportional Allocation ◽  
Dependent Variables

Abstract Background Electronic health tools are of little use if the intended user lacks the skills to effectively engage them. Engaging eHealth requires a skill set, or literacy, of its own. The present study is an effort to probe the relationship of education and Institution (Independent Variables) with the usage and expertise in eHealth literacy (Dependent Variables) among university students. The research is conducted in 16 Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan’s recognized universities in Lahore. Both male and female students ranging from BS to PhD programs were the focus of the research. Methods Quantitative data was collected through survey method using stratified random sampling technique. There were different kinds of strata in population i.e. general universities, health sciences universities, engineering universities and animal sciences universities etc. The research encompassed a total of 89,664 students in 16 universities, from which sample size of 1513 was drawn through research advisor table (2006). Proportional allocation formula was used to specify the number of respondents from each university. Non-parametric statistics was used since data was not normally distributed. Kruskal-Wallis H test and Mann-Whitney U test were applied to measure the difference of effect of groups of independent variables on the dependent variables. Results The level of using digital health literacy was not same for all students, as the students of PhD and BS/Masters were significantly different from each other in terms of their usage of digital health literacy. Level of education showed a significant influence on level of expertise in eHealth literacy, confirming that changing the level of education had an effect on level of expertise in digital health literacy, but the size of effect was smaller. MS/MPhil and PhD students were significantly different from each other in their expertise in digital health literacy. Conclusion Results of the study depicted that belonging to different categories of educational levels differently affect the level of usage and that of expertise in digital health literacy among university students.

Digital Health Literacy

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Cristina Vaz de Almeida
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Health Communication ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Interpersonal Relationship ◽  
Quality Criteria ◽  
Health Organizations

The pandemic has shown the importance of health organizations adapting rapidly to teleconsultation services, investing in e-health with quality criteria and monitoring outcomes. Through a literature review and gathering research already carried out on e-health communication and with practical examples, it is verified that, if the requirements of proximity, quality, and interpersonal relationship are met, better health results can be obtained. When communication is established in health via mobile phone, with image, sound, voice, text, it is thus possible to work the memory and health instructions of patients and obtain better health outcomes. These strategies must be personalized and adapted to the patient's age and context.

scholarly journals Effectiveness of ear, nose and throat outreach programmes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians: a systematic review

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. e038273
Author(s):  
Anna Gotis-Graham ◽  
Rona Macniven ◽  
Kelvin Kong ◽  
Kylie Gwynne
Keyword(s):  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Torres Strait Islander People ◽  
Outreach Services ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Nose And Throat ◽  
Improve Health

ObjectiveTo examine the ability of ear, nose and throat (ENT) outreach programmes to improve health outcomes among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.MethodsWe conducted a systematic literature search of nine databases (Medline, CINAHLS, PsycINFO, Embase, Cochrane, Scopus, Global health, Informit Rural health database and Indigenous collection) and grey literature sources for primary studies evaluating ENT outreach services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This review included English language studies of all types, published between 2000 and 2018, that supplied ENT outreach services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians and provided data to evaluate their aims. Two authors independently evaluated the eligible articles and extracted relevant information. Risk of bias was assessed using the Mixed Methods Assessment Tool.ResultsOf the 506 studies identified, 15 were included in this review. These 15 studies evaluated eight different programs/activities. Studies were heterogeneous in design so a meta-analysis could not be conducted. Seven studies measured health-related outcomes in middle ear or hearing status; six reported overall positive changes one reported no clinically significant improvements. Five programmes/activities and their corresponding studies involved Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and organisations in delivery and evaluation, but involvement in programme or study design was unclear.ConclusionWhile some studies demonstrated improved outcomes, the overall ability of ENT programmes to improve health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children is unclear. The impact of ENT outreach may be limited by a lack of quality evidence, service coordination and sustainability. Community codesign and supporting and resourcing local capacity must be a component of outreach programmes and ongoing evaluation is also recommended. Improvements in these areas would likely improve health outcomes.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42019134757.

scholarly journals Electronic Health Literacy in Swiss-German Parents: Cross-Sectional Study of eHealth Literacy Scale Unidimensionality

10.2196/14492 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. e14492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sibylle Juvalta ◽  
Matthew J Kerry ◽  
Rebecca Jaks ◽  
Isabel Baumann ◽  
Julia Dratva
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Factor Structure ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
General Factor ◽  
Factor Analyses ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Ehealth Literacy ◽  
Swiss German

Background Parents often use digital media to search for information related to their children’s health. As the quantity and quality of digital sources meant specifically for parents expand, parents’ digital health literacy is increasingly important to process the information they retrieve. One of the earliest developed and widely used instruments to assess digital health literacy is the self-reported eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS). However, the eHEALS has not been psychometrically validated in a sample of parents. Given the inconsistency of the eHEALS underlying factor structure across previous reports, it is particularly important for validation to occur. Objective This study aimed to determine the factor structure of the German eHEALS measure in a sample of parents by adopting classic and modern psychometric approaches. In particular, this study sought to identify the eHEALS validity as a unidimensional index as well as the viability for potential subscales. Methods A cross-sectional design was used across two purposive sampling frames: online and paper administrations. Responses were collected between January 2018 and May 2018 from 703 Swiss-German parents. In addition to determining the sampling characteristics, we conducted exploratory factor analysis of the eHEALS by considering its ordinal structure using polychoric correlations. This analysis was performed separately for online–based and paper–based responses to examine the general factor strength of the eHEALS as a unidimensional index. Furthermore, item response theory (IRT) analyses were conducted by fitting eHEALS to a bifactor model to further inspect its unidimensionality and subscale viability. Results Parents in both samples were predominantly mothers (622/703, 88.5%), highly educated (538/703, 76.9%), of Swiss nationality (489/703, 71.8%), and living with a partner (692/703, 98.4%). Factor analyses of the eHEALS indicated the presence of a strong general factor across both paper and online samples, and the Wilcoxon rank-sum test indicated that the eHEALS total sum score was not significantly different between the paper and online samples (P=.12). Finally, the IRT analyses indicated negligible multidimensionality, insufficient subscale reliability after accounting for the eHEALS general factor, and a reduced subset of items that could serve as a unidimensional index of the eHEALS across the paper and online samples. Conclusions The German eHEALS evidenced good psychometric properties in a parent-specific study sample. Factor analyses indicated a strong general factor across purposively distinct sample frames (online and paper). IRT analyses validated the eHEALS as a unidimensional index while failing to find support for subscale usage.

scholarly journals Developing literacy and providing health information to reduce inequality of health in adults in the southern part of India

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (SPL4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ismail Y ◽  
Haja Nazeer Ahamed ◽  
Vijaya Vara Prasad M
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Poor Health ◽  
Sample Population ◽  
Medical Conditions ◽  
Literacy Survey ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
The Impact

The poor health literacy choice is associated with poor health, riskier behavior, more hospitalization and lack of self-management. Developing literacy and providing health information to reduce inequality of health in adults in the southern part of India. To study a case pattern of adults concerning the conditions of health information and to assess the impact in the condition of health literacy score with understanding a short educational presentation. The current study was carried out at one of the Multi speciality Hospital, Nellore, Andhra Pradesh from January 2017 to March 2017. Assessment tool of health literacy validated and utilized in this study with the inspection of health information questionnaire elicited both data on the participants and demographic data related to health information. Association of inspection between patterns and variables of the sample population used related health information. Potential sources regarding health information, general practitioner rank was highest, and their first preference would be 70%. Their second and third preference 50% ranking followed by the clinical pharmacist. All 100 % of participants' health information themselves sought ongoing medical conditions and also seeking about themselves to 85% new medical conditions. The mean newest vital sign baseline scores for the sample of 4.4 (Std. deviation = 2.912) with inline the health literacy survey results for India which means 2.526 for all ages and 2.643 over 56 years. The study confirmed that considerable methods of the cohort study of older Indian people have substantial problems with health literacy and also warrants additional attention.

Digitization and health inequality and equity in nursing

Pflege ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Alexander Hochmuth ◽  
Kamil J. Wrona ◽  
Anne-Kathrin Exner ◽  
Christoph Dockweiler
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Health Inequalities ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Data Extraction ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Nursing Theory ◽  
Digital Inequality ◽  
Health Technologies ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Background: The use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in health care is increasing attention. To describe health inequalities and equity with regard to the use of digital health technologies in a care context and to understand interrelationships, it is of particular importance for the field of care research to use models and theories that explain health inequalities and equity in the use of digital technologies. Aims: This article aims to identify models and theories from the field of nursing and health research that explain the phenomenon of health inequalities and the influence of digital health technologies on the emergence of inequalities. Methods: Relevant articles were searched in electronic databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL & SocINDEX) between July and August 2019 in German and English, within the methodological framework of a scoping review. The systematic literature search and data extraction were performed by 2 reviewers. The description of data refers to standard criteria by 8-1Christiansen and Baum (1997). Results: From a total of 25 relevant articles, 2 were identified for inclusion in the current overview. One model is focusing on ICT for health and the other model focuses on eHealth. No nursing theory could be identified in the context of describing the phenomenon of digital inequality. Conclusions: In both models, there is a lack of discussion about the impact of nursing aspects on the use and acceptance of eHealth technologies. One point should also be the development of models and theories that consider the user perspective of vulnerable groups.

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